ReportersNotebook — General Merchandise, 2/27/12

SUPPLIER NEWS — Glade has introduced its Expressions collection, which features two new designs: the fragrance mist, a refillable home fragrance spray; and an oil diffuser, a nonelectric diffuser that can disperse fragrances for up to 30 days. The four available fragrances include cotton and Italian mandarin; pineapple and mangosteen; fuji apple and cardamom spice; and lavendar and juniper berry. Glade Expressions fragrance mist is available for $4.49; refills are available for $3.49 each. Available in two fragrances, the Glade Expressions oil diffuser starter kit is $8.49; refills are available in three fragrance varieties for $5.49 each.

Zak Designs has created drinkware items for on-the-go toddlers. Zak’s Toddler Go cups feature the patent-pending FloControl valve, designed to cater to children as they age and require a more flowing drinking spout. The cups are spill proof, dishwasher safe and BPA free, and will be available in Disney designs, including “Cars” and “Disney Princesses.”

The joint venture of Duracell and Powermat Technologies has announced its new product lineup. Duracell Powermat said the new line of Duracell Powermat products provides a two-part system that pairs newly designed charging mats — in either black or white — with receivers and a portable wirelessly charged backup battery that lets consumers take power with them. The new Duracell Powermat complete charging kit also will be available in first quarter 2012 to provide consumers with a one-stop option for wireless power.

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association ad campaign claims PBMs lower prescription drug costs for workers, employers and seniors, and reduce medication errors. Laughably, it claims PBMs will save plan sponsors and consumers nearly $2 trillion over the next 10 years. As proof of these claims, the ad campaign cites conclusions of a study by Visante that was prepared for the PCMA, the trade group for the PBMs, which is a bit like a defendant hiring his own expert witness.

As a community pharmacist and elected official, I have a different take on the PBMs than the misleading “That’s What PBMs Do” campaign, and strongly oppose the merger between ESI and Medco.

So, let me tell you what PBMs do, from my perspective. PBMs profit at the expense of consumers. These are for-profit companies that function as intermediaries between health plans, drug companies, retail pharmacies and patients. Their motive is profit, not patient care. The three largest PBMs, including ESI and Medco, have seen their profits nearly quadruple in the last three years — from $900 million to more than $3.5 billion — while most Americans have struggled through a tough recession. While profit is not necessarily a bad thing, it is legitimate to ask whether this tremendous escalation in profit has come at the expense of consumers, who have not seen a commensurate drop in the prices they pay for prescription drugs.

PBMs eliminate competition from smaller pharmacies. As PBMs exert increasing control over the prescription benefits of some 210 million Americans, they squeeze community pharmacists by under-reimbursing us for filling prescriptions. The larger the PBMs grow, the more negotiating power they have to eliminate any opportunity for community pharmacies to make a profit or simply break even.

The PBMs have a strong and unfair profit incentive to eliminate competition from retail pharmacies because they operate their own mail-order pharmacies. An ESI-Medco merger would give the combined company even more power to drive out the competition, forcing community pharmacies to lay off workers — or worse, close their doors altogether.

PBMs reduce prescription drug and pharmacy choices for consumers. The PBMs are empowered by health plans to decide which drugs are included on a particular formulary, so patients cannot always access their preferred brand-name or generic drug. PBMs also decide which pharmacies participate in their network. Sometimes they require that patients only buy from certain chain stores, cutting out other options completely. And increasingly, PBMs are requiring that patients order some drugs exclusively by mail, regardless of patient choice.

PBMs come between a person and his or her health provider of choice, if the provider is a pharmacist. By driving out competition from small pharmacies, restricting a patient’s choice of pharmacies and requiring people to use mail order, the PBMs are gradually making it impossible for people to benefit from the personalized attention of a pharmacist. PBM proponents characterize community pharmacists as unnecessary relics of the past. Medco CEO David Snow described his company’s pharmacy “robots” as more accurate than human pharmacists.

From the interactions I enjoy with my patients, I have drawn the opposite conclusion. Community pharmacists are more important now than ever, and still critical to the well-being of patients. By knowing our customers, we are able to anticipate and meet many of their needs, which is impossible for mail-order pharmacies. We counsel customers and work with them to ensure that they adhere to their doctors’ medication instructions and achieve maximum benefit from their medications.

Community pharmacists also provide such additional health services as vaccinations, health screenings and wellness programs that were once available only through a doctor’s office. This has enabled people who might not otherwise have access to these important preventive services to obtain them. These factors were left out of the self-serving PCMA analysis, but should be considered by Congress and the FTC as they continue to evaluate the merger.

Evan Vickers is an independent pharmacist from Cedar City, Utah, and a member of the Utah House of Representatives.

CDMA awards new products

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Chain Drug Marketing Association last month showcased 110 front-end suppliers for its members at the 86th Annual Trade Expo held here.

CDMA buyers voted ENB Science’s True-Dose this year’s Product Showcase winner for “its innovative and unique product line with great packaging.” The full True Dose line features 12 liquid pet supplements that are added to a pet’s feeding dish through a dose-control pump. The Product Showcase this year featured more than 45 companies, representing 82 products.

CDMA also issued several member awards. Powhatan Pharmacy secured Member of the Year; Today’s Optical was recognized as Associate Member of the Year; Guardian Drug Co. was named Store Brand Supplier of the Year; and Rochester Drug Co. was honored as Store Brand Member of the Year.

The event featured a Store Brand Forum as a way for buyers to meet one-on-one with private-label suppliers. And the CDMA showroom featured more than 500 items across all front-end merchandise categories. Another 500 items were featured in the Direct Import showroom, which showcased primarily seasonal product focused on the fourth quarter.

At the shareholders meeting, Nancy Wharmby of Medicine Center/Medicine Shoppe Pharmacies was elected as the newest member of CDMA’s board of directors.

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Sam’s Club senior vice president and GMM of consumable and health and wellness will be retiring at the end of the fiscal year, a Sam’s Club spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. Turner-Mitchael is a 26-year veteran of the company, having joined Walmart in 1992 as a pharmacist in Lubbock, Texas.

Grocery retailer and wholesaler Supervalu has shared the results from its fiscal 2018 third-quarter, which included a boon to its wholesale business in the form of its Unified Grocers acquisition, even as retail sales declined. The Minneapolis-based company’s total continuing operations saw net sales of $3.94 billion — up 31% from $3 billion in the same period last year.

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Petrics, a pet health technology company, is looking to make tracking weight, activity levels and rest periods a whole lot easier for pet owners. By launching the Smart Pet Bed, Activity Tracker, pet Health and Nutrition App, the Las Vegas-based company is aiming to help those four-legged family members achieve optimal weight ranges.

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